Category Archives: Politics

Huuuuuge piles of cash

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Persiflage

As widely reported today, the first of the “Breakthrough” prizes in mathematics have been announced. Leaving aside the question as to whether such awards are sensible (Persiflage is more sympathetic to capitalist principles than your average pinko marxist mathematician), I … Continue reading →

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Math and Genius

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Persiflage

Jordan Ellenberg makes a compelling case, as usual, on the pernicious cultural notion of “genius.” Jordan’s article also brought to mind a thought provoking piece on genius by Moon Duchin here (full disclosure: the link on Duchin’s website has the … Continue reading →

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Are business schools intellectually bankrupt?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Persiflage

From the New York Times today, a report from business school professors concerning a study which claims to show that professors are prejudiced, too. I remember reading the original paper on this study, which made it painfully clear that the … Continue reading →

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Does Harvard discriminate in favour of Jews?

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Persiflage

In The American Conservative, Ron Unz published an essay that was ostensibly about whether the top Ivy schools discriminate against Asian students but, upon closer reading, was mainly concerned with arguing that Harvard/Yale/Princeton discriminate against white Gentiles in favour of … Continue reading →

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Who is D.H.J. Polymath?

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Persiflage

D.H.J. Polymath is the assumed collective pseudonym for the authors of a number of papers which have arisen as a result of the polymath project initated by Gowers. Presumably, since it is a matter of open record, one can go … Continue reading →

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Why is my paper taking so long to review?

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Persiflage

The question in the title does not refer to any of my own papers; rather, I want to *answer* the question from the perspective of an editor. Here, roughly, is how the sausage is made (this is a medium case … Continue reading →

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Elsevier’s answer to public criticism:

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Persiflage

The following was sent to editors for an Elsevier journal; a copy of the email mysteriously fell into my hands, and I reproduce it here (in part): Following discussions with the board and at Elsevier this year, we feel that … Continue reading →

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Bush, the Messiah (and Emma Kirkby)

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Persiflage

The title of this post is, in part, a public service message to use the Oxford comma. However, there is a thread (in my mind) linking the three titular subjects. The connection between George Bush and the Messiah is not … Continue reading →

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The union thugs at the AMS

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Persiflage

After twice failing to achieve a 2/3 majority on previous votes, the AMS busted up the filibuster and railroaded through their new fellows program. The initial implementation was based on having achieved one of several things, the easiest of which … Continue reading →

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